War Mammoths
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = * |defense = |resist = * |hits = |abilities = Wall Crusher First Strike }} War Mammoths are a type of Normal Unit. This unit is unique to the Troll Race, and can only be built in Troll towns, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain both an Armorers' Guild and Stables for this to be possible. War Mammoths are essentially a very powerful type of cavalry, capable of outflanking enemy units and destroying them rapidly. They are particularly useful against thanks to the First Strike ability, which allows them to kill several enemy figures before those figures can retaliate. War Mammoths are also capable of knocking down City Wall segments during combat. Unfortunately, War Mammoths are the only Troll units that cannot Regenerate, making them significantly less survivable than the other high-tier Troll unit, the War Trolls. Therefore they often require different tactics, and are not as capable of taking on Fantastic Units. War Mammoths require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Along with their high Construction Cost, this makes War Mammoths one of the most expensive Normal Units. Failure to pay the Upkeep Cost will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description War Mammoths are gigantic fur-covered creatures akin to the elephant. They have great tusks which can be used to impale enemies, and their feet are massive enough to crush even well-armored opponents. Each War Mammoth is ridden by a single Troll - an ugly, brutish humanoid with a long nose and sickly-green skin. These riders carry large clubs in order to strike at enemies which the War Mammoths have missed during their charge. Mammoths did exist in our real world, and were in fact hunted by humans in ages past. They are theorized to have died out due to either over-hunting or the rapid warming of the Earth's atmosphere - or possibly both. The last known specimens died out several thousand years ago. War Mammoths are a , containing when fully healed. Attack Properties The War Mammoths' Melee Attack is quite strong, and resembles the strength of high-tier Fantastic Units. Each War Mammoth attacks with a strength of by default. Since they are almost always created with an extra , War Mammoths generally have instead. This gives an average damage output of about per Mammoth - a very high amount, which is almost guaranteed to pierce through any armor. Unfortunately, with only , this attack is less likely to wipe out a whole (except very weak ones), but will still cause at least some damage to these units. Additional makes the attack stronger, but again primarily benefits damage output against heavily-armored opponents, and especially like most Fantastic Creatures and Heroes. Furthermore, when War Mammoths make a voluntary Melee Attack against an enemy unit, they utilizes a First Strike ability. This means that instead of delivering their regular Melee Damage simultaneously with the enemy's Counter Attack, the War Mammoths' Melee Damage is delivered before the enemy can retaliate. In other words, any enemy killed by the First Strike does not get to make its Counter Attack at all, though it might still get to use a Gaze Attack if it possesses one. Note that the War Mammoths may not use their First Strike when Counter Attacking to an enemy's assault. This means that they will only deliver Melee Damage to their enemies at the end of the battle sequence, as per the normal combat rules. War Mammoths also possess the Wall Crusher ability, which allows them to destroy sections of City Walls during siege combat at an enemy town. To utilize this ability, the War Mammoths must move into a tile adjacent to the wall, and can then attack the wall directly as they would any unit. There is a 50% chance that each such attack will destroy the targeted wall section. Note that if an enemy unit is hiding behind this wall section, the War Mammoth actually attacks that opponent (and may trigger a Counter Attack), but still stands a 50% chance of destroying the wall section itself. Defense Properties War Mammoths have thick hides, and thus possess the highest Defense score of any Troll unit, at . This allows them to block about from any incoming attack. Most low-tier and some mid-tier Normal Units will have trouble getting through this armor, though powerful attacks can still get some damage through. Furthermore, each individual War Mammoth possesses , for a total of in a fully-healed unit. As a result, it is quite difficult to kill each Mammoth. Sadly, War Mammoths are the only Troll unit that do not possess the ability to Regenerate. This makes the War Mammoths significantly more vulnerable than other Troll units, despite the heavy Defense and large number of Hit Points. They are still hard to kill, but won't come back to life after a successful battle - making their use riskier. War Mammoths are exceptionally resistant to magic - even more-so than other Troll units. They possess a Resistance score of by default, but this is usually raised to thanks to the free that War Mammoths normally get. As a result they are completely immune to a handful of Curses and other ill effects, and each additional Experience Level they gain will make them immune to a wider and wider variety of them. Other Properties Despite their size, War Mammoths are fast creatures - moving at a rate of . They can only traverse land tiles by default. The high movement speed is used primarily to get the Mammoths to their target early in the battle, and then to utilize the First Strike ability. In order to prevent the enemy from attacking the War Mammoths voluntarily, the Mammoths will usually attempt to outmaneuver their opponents and will withdraw from combat after each First Strike attack they make. Basic Strategy War Mammoths are a bit of an irregularity in the Troll army. On the one hand, they are quite powerful and can be used against most types of targets - but they completely lack the Regeneration ability common to all other Troll units. As a result, many players opt to construct large numbers of nigh-invincible War Trolls rather than spending the extra resources on creating and maintaining War Mammoths. Still, the War Mammoths have their applications during combat - especially for bringing down enemy City Walls. During combat, War Mammoths behave like shock-cavalry. They seek out a target, approach it rapidly, and then maneuver to use their First Strike ability. The best targets for this ability are , who might lose a few figures before they can Counter Attack, thus reducing risk to the War Mammoths. Injured enemy units are equally good targets, as the War Mammoths might kill the unit completely before it manages to react. In the absence of such targets, War Mammoths generally attack well-armored units, as they stand the best chance of inflicting at least some damage against these targets. Remember that First Strike only works when the War Mammoths are attacking voluntarily. Do not allow enemy units to attack the War Mammoths of their own volition. If necessary, withdraw the War Mammoths a short distance after making each First Strike attack, and lure the enemy to approach you so that you can execute another First Strike immediately. War Mammoths possess a strong Defense and plenty of Hit Points, and so are difficult to kill. However, the lack of Regeneration means that you must make sure not to let this unit be destroyed - it will not come back after combat like other Trolls do, even if you manage to win the battle. Due to the high Construction Cost of War Mammoths, this serves to discourage most players from using them at all. Remember that War Trolls are cheaper, stronger, and Regenerate regularly - making them superior in almost every way! The primary benefit to the use of War Mammoths is during sieges on enemy Towns. War Mammoths can attack City Walls to make a breach which they can then move through (or allow other units to move through). If you decide to use War Mammoths, it is usually wise to let them be accompanied by Troll Shamans, so that they may be rapidly healed after battles in which they take damage. They are, in fact, the only units in the Troll army that benefit from the Troll Shamans' Healer ability in this way. Ability Overview Wall Crusher * This unit can make Melee Attacks and/or Ranged Attacks (as available) against City Walls. Each attack has a certain chance to destroy the targeted wall section for the remainder of the battle. * A Ranged Attack has a 25% chance of destroying the targeted wall section. A Melee Attack has a 50% chance of destroying the targeted wall section. * If an enemy unit is standing behind the wall when it is attacked, the Wall Crusher unit attacks that unit as well. Defense bonuses to the target unit depend on whether or not the wall is destroyed during this attack. * This ability can only destroy City Walls. Other, magical wall types are not affected. First Strike * When this unit makes a Melee Attack during its own turn, it delivers its Melee damage before the target does. * Any enemy killed in the First Strike do not get to deal their own damage to the attacker. * First Strike damage is dealt after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any). * First Strike does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking (i.e. when retaliating to an attack by an enemy unit). Experience Table The following table illustrates how War Mammoths improve as they gain Experience. Any properties that are not listed here do not improve with Experience in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the Crusade spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both the Warlord Retort and the Crusade spell must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of damage that each in a War Mammoths unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to figure out the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition War Mammoths are unique to the Troll faction, and thus may be produced in any Troll Town. A town must contain both the Armorers' Guild and the Stables to be able to produce War Mammoths. Should a town lose either its Armorers' Guild or Stables, it can no longer produce War Mammoths until replacement structures are built. Note that this building requirement means that War Mammoths produced in towns will always start as "Regular" troops (one free Experience Level), giving them a small but significant bonus above the default unit strength. The Construction Cost of this unit is . War Mammoths may appear for hire as Mercenaries. They may already have some Experience on being hired, and several units may be hired simultaneously. Hiring these units requires a certain cost in that depends on many different factors. War Mammoth Mercenaries have the same Upkeep Cost as a normally-constructed unit. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Trolls